Chapter 9
" Yum! yum! yum! YUM!"
" Yum! Yum! Yum! Yummy!"
Zoltik and Ryou were eating at an all-you-can-eat-buffet. Their plate platter was filled with all kinds of extrinsic dishes. Zoltik ate like his usual self, eating large amounts like a pig but swallowing down his gulch like a duck, and now closing his mouth. Ryou took one piece at a time, and he ate it quick yet took his time to savor the taste.
" Isn't this the greatest place a person can eat from, Ryou?" Zoltik asked. He then started munching more and more food down his gulch.
" Yeah. My four favorite words in the whole wide world." Ryou lifted up a piece of pizza and raised it to the sign All-You-Can-Eat. As he did, the cheese touched a bald man's head. " All-You-Can-Eat. But gully, this pizza sure is hard to chew."
" Yeah, and these bean buns taste like your smelly foot, Ryou."
Daydream
In reality, Zoltik and Ryou were at Zoltik's house, sleeping, and were both dreaming that they were eating at an all-you-can-eat-buffet. Ryou was nibbling on Zoltik's smelly feet while Zoltik was licking Ryou's hairy legs. They looked like babies while they were sleeping, at least until they woke up and saw what they were doing.
" Yuck!" Both Zoltik and Ryou replied in unison and sticked out their tongues. " That tasted nasty!"
Both Zoltik and Ryou's stomachs grumbled. They were both hungry. Zoltik and Ryou both blushed at the sound of their stomachs grumbling, looked at each other in their eyes, and they both laughed in unison.
" It is breakfast time," Ryou laughed as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. " I think I'll make us some breakfast."
" What are you going to make for me?" Zoltik asked. " Pancakes? Waffles? Chicken? Buttered Pancakes?"
Ryou walked to the small portable refrigerator and opened the door. But inside he saw nothing but flies and spoiled cartoons of old milk.
" Uh-oh."
" I-It's empty," Zoltik said as he looked at the empty refrigerator. " Nooooooo."
Five Minutes Later
Zoltik and Ryou both sat on their couch listening to their stomachs rumble for food. Ryou checked his wallet, but he couldn't find any yen inside. And he couldn't use any money from Zoltik because he lost it all the money in a location he's never even heard about. After finding no money, Ryou rubbed Zoltik's head.
" Cheer up, Zoltik. At least we have each other."
" Yeah, but your not pancakes."
" I wish I could help you. Maybe we can sell this couch. I'm pretty sure it's worth a lot."
" Not a chance. I got it from a friend. I'll be dead before I sell it too anyone."
" C'mon, Zoltik. You and me are both broke. And it's not like we can get a loan. I'm already still working off a debt you owe me from that fish restaurant. What are we going to do-"
Zoltik's phone started to ring. Zoltik pulled the phone out of his pants and brought it too his right ear. Zoltik's phone was shielded in a case that looked like a crab." Yo. This is Ryou. Do your thing." Zoltik's eyes were half closed, but after listening to what was being said on the receiver, his eyes lit up like fireworks. " My master Toriko left me what?"
" Zoltik, is something wrong?"
" H-Hi-His..."
Zoltik collapsed from all the joy that was going through him. Ryou was worried. He kicked Zoltik by his left leg trying to wake him up, only he didn't move a muscle.
" Uh-oh."
Then suddenly, like a volcano erupting from a mountain, Zoltik leaped up with joy on his face.
" Yes! Oh yes, I can't believe it!"
" Huh? What can't you believe, Zoltik?"
" Just the greatest thing in the world. My master Toriko, my decipher, he gave me the deed to his house."
" Toriko's house? You actually inherited thee great Gourmet Hunter Toriko's house?"
" Yes! And that's not all. Do you know what his house is made of?"
" No. What is his house made of?"
" Food, bro. His house is made out of food! We hit the mother load!" Zoltik quickly ran to the front of his apartment and got dressed. Zoltik dressed like a detective-brown hat, buttoned brown coat, and brown boots. Zoltik opened the door to his apartment as he looked at Ryou. " Well, are you coming?"
" Coming? Coming where?"
" With me, bro. We're living together, right? At least until you get enough money and can get your own place, right. So come on."
" Okay, I'm coming. Wait up for me."
Toriko's House.
Zoltik and Ryou rode all the way too Toriko's old house. It was in an unnamed valley in the World Kitchen. And just like Zoltik described the house was made out of food. It was a two-story house made of candy and sweets and it was where Toriko once resided with his pets Terry Cloth the Battle Wolf and Ob the Obsaurus as well as his wife Rin. It was made from candy, breads, sweets, and never melting ice cream. It was once eaten by wildlife, brought back by the Gourmet Architect Smile, eating by Toriko and his friends, and brought back again. There was also a dog house where Terry Cloth once slept.
Toriko's house was a nature-filled surrounding area where the house is located is mostly a wild expanse of nature with no signs of other human settlements visible. The area is inhabited by many regular beasts of low capture levels, the area also has numerous sweets hot spots where one can collect many delicious natural confections and candies, such as Mushroom Pudding forests and Natural Chocolate Fountains
" Woah. I haven't been here in ages," Zoltik said out loud at the sight of Toriko's house. Zoltik ran to Terry's old dog house. " See this? I use to come here early and play for hours with Terry and Ob. One time I snuck into Terry's doghouse and he licked me so much I felt like I was going to drown in his slobber. Man his fur felt like towels." Zoltik ran to the right where a tree was and pat the tree trunk. " And this is where I use to climb up, jump off, and land on Ob. Man I miss those two."
" I don't know if we should live here, Zoltik," Ryou said in his worried tone. " This place has been here for years. Don't you think that the food has spoiled?"
" Nope. Sugar doesn't spoil. And everything in this house is covered in sugar."
" What about the mortgage, Zoltik? Don't you still have to pay mortgage for a house this big?"
" Not when its made out of candy, bro. Now let's get inside. There's still so much I want to show you."
Inside Toriko's House
The house looked like a classy house rich people lived in, only it was made entirely out of candy. The stairs were made of solid, dark chocolate, there was a chandelier made out of sticky taffy, and the walls were made out of marshmallows as well as the furniture made out of marshmallows, and the doors were made of solid caramel.
" I can't believe it," Zoltik said as he was excited. " Fork me, this is unbelievable! This place hasn't changed at all. Sweet!"
" I still have a bad feeling about this house. What if we're asleep and birds try to eat it. We'll be left in the house and freeze too death."
" Bro, you worry too much. Why can't you ever let anything good happen too me? Just follow me. I'll show you something great."
Toriko and Rin's Bedroom
Ironically, both Toriko and Rin slept on separate beds. Their beds unlike the rest of their house was made out of wood with a mattress on the wooden bed. Zoltik made Ryou look through the windowsill. Outside he saw the sun setting. It was an incandescent light, and it brightened both Zoltik and Ryou's skin. It was the most beautiful light Ryou had seen.
" See that," Zoltik said. " It's nice, isn't it. After training my master would always take me up here and show me the view. And then Rin would bring me parfait. I was so happy learning under Toriko. Betting to play with his pets, eating with him, getting warm smiles from Rin, it felt like home too me."
" Wow Zoltik, I never thought you to be the emotional type."
" I'm not. And if you ever mention what I said to you to anyone, well, use your imagination. So, still don't think you'd like to stay here, Ryou?"
" No, no, you've convinced me. Of course I'll stay here with you, Zoltik. We're partners after all. And if you're happy then I'm happy."
" Great. Now we can get back to our old apartment and get our luggag-" Zoltik stopped at the sound of his crab shell covered cellphone ringing. Zoltik brought the cellphone to his ears and pressed the receiver. " Excuse me. Hello."
Zoltik listened intently to what the person on the other end of his phone was saying. After listening to him for five minutes, Zoltik finally pressed a button on his phone and it turned off. Zoltik then turned to Ryou and stared at him with a serious look on his face.
" I'm afraid packing is going to have to wait until later, bro. I just got a call from the IGO."
" Really? What did they say?"
" They said..." Zoltik leaned down to Ryou's face and looked him right in his eyes. " That a once extinct creature was found in Ice Hell. Ryou, that creature was a Demon Panther."
End of Chapter 9
